Pastoral Support

Developing a Circuit NPNP

The below guidance comes from our District NPNP team.

There is also a connexional resource ‘Starting New Christian Communities: a practical guide for circuit-based New Places for New People’ which offers further practical and theological resources for thinking about NPNP development.

Beginning to form an NPNP

If you have an idea for an NPNP in your circuit, the District NPNP team recommend you contact them as early as possible. They will be available to meet with you, hear your plans, and be a part of the discernment process.  The team exists to encourage, support and help you.

It is important to understand that this is not a quick process.  However, at its best it is synergistic and enriching for everyone and the earlier the team is involved, the smoother the application is likely to be.

NPNP Criteria

Funds will be awarded to circuits that meet the following criteria:

  1. Focused on one of these areas of opportunity:
  • new towns or new housing developments
  • student/young adult/university
  • families with children
  • replanting in an existing place or second site of a growing church
  • Church at the Margins
  • another context where an NPNP vision has arisen

 

  1. The NPNP will be:
  • a new community, not a relaunch of an established church or existing community.
  • focused on intentional evangelism and discipleship, leading to significant numbers of new people exploring faith and becoming disciples.
  1. The circuit will have:
  • a good manager/overseer/coaching culture agreement and support from Circuit Leadership Team and Superintendent
  • carried out substantial contextual and prayerful discernment about community needs and local church/circuit resources surrounding the NPNP
  • a clear foundational gospel vision, including evidence of listening to God and prayer
  • an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) policy; equality and inclusion of all people must be demonstrated as a core value of your NPNP. More information and resources available here

The Circuit NPNP discernment process

All funding processes for NPNPs require seven steps to be followed:

  1. preparation
  2. presentation
  3. completion of the funding submission form
  4. confirmation
  5. recommendation
  6. audit and approval
  7. funding

the District NPNP team will support you throughout this process.

Note: The below guidance needs to be read alongside the resources and guidance available on the NPNP webpage, including the Starting new Christian communities NPNP practical guide

Step 1: Preparation

In step 1: Preparation, The Circuit NPNP team contacts the District NPNP team, and they begin a joint journey of support, prayer and discernment in order to design the circuit’s NPNP. 

The Circuit NPNP team should consist of at least three people who are committed to driving the project forward, and should include someone who understands the finances of the project, the project lead, and two or three people who are committed to pray, cheerlead and help develop the project. 

it is recommended that Circuit and District NPNP teams meet at least three times during the period of preparation which may involve building a Circuit NPNP Team, discerning where to locate the project, and undertaking some experimentation and testing of the idea.

Step 2: Presentation

The Circuit NPNP team, with advice from the District NPNP team, produces a video presentation telling the story of the project, and evidencing how the eligibility criteria have been met.  These can be found at Appendix 1 of Chapter 3 in ‘Starting new Christian communities: A practical Guide’.

The District NPNP team can also connect you with a ‘critical friend’, and these will meet with members of the District NPNP panel to hear the project vision, view the presentation, ask questions and offer feedback with the aim of encouraging the best possible NPNP and outcomes.  The presentation must focus on the questions and headings found in Chapter 3 of ‘Starting new Christian communities: A practical Guide’.

Step 3: Funding Submission Form

This must first go to the District NPNP team and is signed off by the Chair of District. 

It should include evidence of fruitfulness markers which can be found in Chapter 12 of the connexional NPNP guide.

Steps 4 – 6: Confirmation, Recommendation, Audit and Approval

Once steps 1-3 have been completed and the District NPNP team is satisfied, it is forwarded by them to the Evangelism and Growth Team Project Officer (funding allocation and distribution).  This part of the process is quite quick (1 – 2 weeks) at which point you will know if the funding has been allocated.  (NB This is a change to the original requirements as the South East District has chosen to apply for the Model B framework which allows most of the discernment to be done at District level).  See Circuit Based NPNP Guide on the District Website.

Step 7: Funding

Once the Evangelism and Growth NPNP Team has approved the NPNP, the NPNP Officer (Funding Allocation and Distribution) will liaise with colleagues in the Finance and Resources Team to release funds within four weeks.